The semiconductor industry is facing a challenge that cannot be solved by advanced equipment and fabrication capacity alone: there are not enough engineers with practical chip-manufacturing experience. Addressing this gap, Lam Research and NY CREATES have launched a new workforce-development collaboration designed to give university students hands-on exposure to semiconductor process integration without requiring access to a physical cleanroom.

3,500 Students, One Virtual Fab;

The collaboration is expected to support the training of approximately 3,500 university students over the next five years across NY CREATES’ network of partner colleges and universities in the U.S. Northeast.

At the center of the program is Lam Research’s SEMulator3D, a virtual fabrication platform within its Semiverse Solutions portfolio. The technology allows students to simulate semiconductor manufacturing processes and examine how individual fabrication steps influence overall device performance.

Rather than learning chip manufacturing only through textbooks or classroom theory, students can virtually explore processes such as etch, deposition and lithography, gaining a clearer understanding of how advanced semiconductor structures are developed and integrated.

Access to semiconductor fabrication facilities remains a major barrier for many academic institutions. The cost of maintaining cleanrooms, process equipment, wafers and specialized materials can make real-world manufacturing education difficult to scale.

The new collaboration takes a different approach.

Through virtual fabrication, students can experiment with complex process flows, analyze manufacturing trade-offs and understand the consequences of process decisions without physically consuming wafers or requiring direct access to advanced fabrication infrastructure.

This could become increasingly important as chip architectures grow more sophisticated and semiconductor companies seek engineers who can contribute to advanced process integration from the beginning of their careers.

Lam Research and NY CREATES intend to develop semiconductor process-integration coursework aligned with modern manufacturing flows and advanced logic technologies. The program will also support broader workforce initiatives, including the National Network for Microelectronics Education (NNME) Northeast.

For NY CREATES, the initiative strengthens the connection between universities, semiconductor companies and the expanding U.S. chip ecosystem. Its Albany NanoTech Complex already serves as a major semiconductor research and development center, providing an important foundation for linking academic learning with industry-oriented technology development.

The significance of the collaboration extends beyond student training. As semiconductor manufacturing expands across the United States, workforce development is becoming an increasingly important component of the industry’s growth strategy.

Virtual manufacturing platforms could help universities scale specialized semiconductor education faster while giving students exposure to the decision-making processes behind modern chip fabrication.

The broader message is clear: building the next generation of semiconductor capacity will require building the next generation of semiconductor engineers at the same time.

The Lam Research NY CREATES initiative represents a move toward a more accessible, technology-driven model of semiconductor education where the virtual fab becomes an important training ground before engineers enter the physical one.

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